SK Hynix has launched the industry’s first DDR5 DRAM that is able to send about 9 full-HD movies in just one second. The company’s plan is to lead the global high-end DRAM market by launching next-generation DRAMs faster than its competitors.
The company announced on Tuesday that it has launched the world’s first DDR5 DRAM.
DDR5 is a next-generation DRAM standard announced by JEDEC back in July. Compared to products based on the DDR4 standard that is commonly used today, the DDR5 standard drastically improves data transmission speed and power efficiency. It is expected to play various roles during the Fourth Industrial Revolution for big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning.
Market research company called Omdia predicts that there will be a surge in demands for DDR5 products starting from 2021 and that they will be responsible for 10% and 43% of the entire global DRAM market in 2022 and 2024 respectively.
SK Hynix’s new DDR5 DRAM has vastly improved performance compared to existing DRAMs. Its transfer rate is between 4,800 and 5,600 Mbps that is about 1.8 times faster than that of its predecessor DDR4 (3,200 Mbps). 5,600 Mbps transfer rate is equivalent to a speed that is able to transfer 9 full-HD movies (5 GB each) in just one second.
Its capacity can grow up to 256 GB through application of the TSV (Through Silicon Via) technology. Thus, it will be able to provide improved speed and high capacity at the same time.
Its operating voltage has been lowered from 1.2 V to 1.1 V and requires 20% less power consumption. Another specification of the company’s new DDR5 DRAM is that the memory has ECC (Error Correcting Code) inside it that allows the chip correct even 1-bit-level errors on its own.
“Reliability of systems that use our DDR5 DRAM will be improved by about 20 times.” said a spokesperson for SK Hynix. “The chip will be especially useful for data centers with power efficiency and operation cost.”
Even before the DDR5 standard became official, SK Hynix has been preparing for it by providing samples to its partners. After developing the world’s first 16Gb DDR5 in November of 2018, it provided samples to its major partners such as Intel.
The company also completed verifying functions of DDR5 by conducting joint-operation of on-site lab, system-level test, and various simulations with SoC (System on Chip) manufacturers. It has also conducted research closely with its global customers in order to test compatibility between major components on DRAM module such as RCD (Register Clock Driver) and PMIC (Power Management Integrated Circuit). Various semiconductor-related companies such as Synopsis, Renesas, Montage Technology, and Rambus stated their commitments regarding cooperating with SK Hynix on DDR5.
“Intel and SK Hynix have been working closely on the DDR5 specs development since architecture concepts to DDR5 standardization by JEDEC.” said Carolyn Duran who is a vice president at Intel. “We have been working together on designing and testing prototypes to ensure that DDR5 meets its performance and are now ready to respond to our customers.”
Based on products and technologies that incorporate the DDR5 standard, SK Hynix is looking to become a leader in the global low power DRAM market.
Oh Jong-hoon, who is the executive vice president at SK Hynix, said that the company has become a leader in the global DRAM market by launching the world’s first DDR5 DRAM and that it will continue to solidify its position as a leading DRAM company by targeting the global premium server market that is growing at a rapid rate.
Staff Reporter Kang, Hyeryung | kang@etnews.com